Bliss Wine Imports Mexico and Cafe Milou are excited to bring you one of the stars in Chile’s natural wine scene, Manuel Moraga of Cacique Maravilla. More about him is below. Join us for a multi-course lunch centered around bringing together the world of wine. We will be dining on a Mexican-inspired menu with wines from Chile and Portugal. Alongside Manuel, we will be featuring a couple of wines from Quinta da Boavista from Dao, Portugal. While Joao Tavares de Pina will not be in attendance, Master Sommelier Andrey Ivanov will be there to speak to the wines on his behalf.

Manuel is the 7th generation winemaker at his vineyard. Yes, 7th generation! His ancestor was a conquistador that actually had a wonderful relationship with the local people who gave him the nickname Cacique Maravilla, wonderful leader. His Pais vines today are original, over 250 years old! Today Manuel still farms the land and makes wine in an old school way. In a time that natural winemaking is becoming popular, Manuel is just doing what he always has. Kind of like your mom who never left the 80s and now tapered jeans and leggings are back in style. The style is a little crazy, but awesome.

Philosophy: Very little is done in the vineyard. Minimally and organically farmed, not much pruning, no tractors. In fact the vines are so wild you can barely walk through the vineyard, let alone get a tractor through there! His Pais is bottled just before fermentation is finished giving the wine a slight fizz, the definition of the style of Pipeño. The moscato goes sulfur free and is delicious in a crazy, rustic, slightly funky way. Oh, we forgot to mention the seven generations of winemaking tradition in Manuel’s family going all the way back to the original planting of the Pais vineyard in 1740! These grapes are in fact grown on vines that are 270+ years old